Sigh of relief from Harrison
By STEPHEN HALLIDAY
The Scotsman, UK
June 17 2004
A FEELING of helplessness is not something Scott Harrison is familiar
with in his working life. The WBO featherweight champion has attained
his elevated status in his chosen profession by dint of ferocious
determination and the possession of a firm grip on his own destiny.
It came as the rudest of shocks, then, for Harrison to find his whole
career and the financial security of his family hanging on the outcome
of an event over which he had no control whatsoever.
Happily for the 26-year-old Cambuslang boxer, the not-guilty verdict
delivered by Sheriff Ray Little at Hamilton Sheriff Court last Thursday
erased his worries that his plans to become the undisputed world
featherweight champion would come to an abrupt end outside the ring.
Now cleared of the assault charge which hung over his head for almost
a year, Harrison can retrain full focus on his goal of facing the
best in the nine-stone division and unifying the belts to stake his
claim as Scotland’s finest boxer of the modern era.
But as he completed his preparations yesterday at the Phoenix Gym in
Glasgow for Saturday’s defence of his WBO title against No1 contender
William Abelyan, the Scot revealed for the first time the depths of
his concerns as he sat in court last week.
“Although I always knew I was innocent, what happened was not in
my hands,” said Harrison. “You are in someone else’s world when you
are in court and it’s up to the judge to look at the facts and make
the decision.
“It wasn’t nice. When you see people trying to bring you down and
telling lies about you, it makes you angry. If I had been found
guilty of assault, then I knew it would have affected my career,
so it was a big relief.”
It then transpires that not even Harrison was fully aware of just
how much it would have altered the landscape of his life had the
Sheriff’s judgment gone against him.
Frank Maloney, Harrison’s manager, interrupts his fighter to add:
“The British Boxing Board of Control would have taken Scott’s licence
away if he had been found guilty, it was as simple as that.”
Harrison’s normally implacable features change, his eyebrows raised
and a sobering look of realisation spreading across the eyes which
will bore into the face of Abelyan at the Braehead Arena on Saturday.
“I didn’t realise that,” he mutters. “That makes me feel even more
relieved about the decision.”
Maloney, never a man to avoid over-dramatising any situation in the
quest to hype a fight, has no need for exaggeration on this occasion.
“I’ve seen two of my boxers in the past go to prison for assault,”
adds Maloney. “Their fists are regarded as lethal weapons by the
legal profession. Although the whole team knew Scott was innocent of
the charge, you can never anticipate what will happen in the courtroom.
“It was a really nervous 48 hours last week waiting for the verdict.
Scott’s career was on the line, no doubt about it, everything he has
worked for could have gone. I was running for Mayor of London last
Thursday but I felt like breaking off from the campaigning to open
a bottle of champagne when I heard Scott had been cleared.
“It’s been hard for Scott but he now has to learn to surround himself
with a select group of loyal friends and avoid going out to certain
places. Being a world champion brings a lot of responsibility and I
know it can be hard to avoid hassle when you go out.
“There are always idiots who will want to pick a fight with a world
champion. I’ve seen five-foot midgets trying to have a go at Lennox
Lewis. Scott just has to be more careful now.”
Harrison insists the disruption to his training programme last
week has not been enough to dull his readiness to face Abelyan, the
American-Armenian making plenty of noise about how easy it will be
to take the Scot’s belt.
“I don’t give a damn what he says, I’m ready to do a job on him,”
says Harrison. “I’m in great shape and I’m more determined than ever
to put on a show for the fans who have stuck by me. Abelyan’s awkward
but I’ll take it round by round and knock him out eventually.”
Harrison is about to re-enter the place where he is capable of
exercising total control. He does not intend to leave anything in
the hands of the judges on Saturday.